1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to athletic training equipment and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for use in basketball shooting practice.
2. The Background Art
Basketball is a common sport among youths and adults alike. Most amateur athletes (basketball players) develop and practice their shooting techniques without a coach. Like sandlot baseball, basketball is often played with a minimum of equipment, no officiating, no coaching and a makeshift court. Basketball is often played on a driveway or in a schoolyard. Basketball may be played as a solo practice event or one-on-one between friends. Informal teams may form if enough players are present. Individuals learn how to shoot a basketball by watching friends. Sometimes, questions or comments may be exchanged. However, knowledge and skill are limited. Information exchanged or techniques observed are often erroneous. Thus, any skills developed in reliance on informal play are questionable. Practice of those skills may simply solidify poor techniques.
Some players have a coach accessible. Basketball teams are typically coached at junior and senior high schools. However even there, a coach cannot average more than a few minutes per day in individual instruction with a player. Moreover, a coach has little opportunity to carefully observe an individual. Seldom will a coach see a player take the same shot numerous times in succession. Individual players also practice alone, but spend little practice time being observed by a coach. College and professional teams alone have coaches who can spend time observing and correcting each player.
Players need knowledge of what to do. They need to know proper techniques. They also need some way to know whether they are executing the techniques properly during practice. Finally, players need a reminder with each shot, until the proper technique, properly executed is a habit.
Practicing to aquire a skill is most effective if a proper technique is properly executed numerous times. Among other things, practice strengthens required or useful muscles. Practice also creates control. However, practicing a wrong technique or executing a technique improperly teaches wrong technique. Bad practice may be worse than no practice. Poor practice limits a player's ability to perform or to improve in any sport or activity.
Practice should employ proper technique for each shot. Proper technique should be the only technique practiced. The proper technique should be executed properly every time. The technique should be repeated numerous times. A youth aspiring to play collegiate or professional basketball should shoot approximately 300 shots per day. Those shots should be done with proper technique, properly executed, until the technique is habit, even reflex. Control is a direct result of this repeated, identical, correct, habitual positioning and movement of body members.
Muscles are also developed with practice. Repetitions or "reps" are part of any strength training. Proper strength comes from repeating a motion against some resistance, such as a weight, or the body's weight. Muscles should be properly "loaded." That, is they should encounter the proper resistance forces. If additional loading is added, it must be carefully directed to develop muscles in proper balance. A proper balance of the strengths of cooperating muscles comes from repeating the motions associated with a desired skill.
A proper range of motion comes from each body member traversing its full path of motion associated with the desired skill. Motions by a body member are more likely to be correctly executed if begun from a proper position. However, young players and untrained participants may fail to practice proper techniques such as positioning and motion, moreover, they are unlikely to know what they are. Therefore, such individuals will lack both the positioning of the arms, hands and shoulder complex. They will lack muscular development required to shoot a basketball forcefully and in a proper direction required to make a goal shot.
"Neuromuscular memory" is an expression used to describe the development of habits and muscles with practice. It is the sum of habitual patterns that become part of any player's technique and conditioning after frequent and numerous repetitions of motions. Thus, neuromuscular memory is a combination of balanced muscular strength, range of motion and muscular control. It is developed by numerous, frequent repetitions of the physical positioning and motion associated with a properly executed technique for an athletic skill.
No reliable method is available without professional coaching to provide the necessary practice of proper techniques. The individual without a coach relies only on happenstance to learn and practice proper techniques.